Harry Potter and the Ascension of the Dark Lord
by LifeOnTheMoon
Summary: After living as a Muggle for sixteen years Harry Potter is thrust headfirst into a brutal magical war. Can the Chosen One rise to the occasion or will he get swallowed up by the forces of darkness that threaten him and his new friends? Non-Hogwarts AU.
1. Prologue

Harry was cold. It was the kind of cold that came with incredible exhaustion. The kind of cold that chills your bones. But be that as it may, he still did not want to close his eyes. Oh he knew he was safe. Trains were usually safe. No it was the dreams. The flashes of green light, the high-pitched laughter, that left him feeling far more unrested than staying awake did. Sometimes, he even saw faces. He didn't recognise the faces but they all had one thing in common. They were all pale, still and undoubtedly dead. He had never slept well. Not in his all his (almost) sixteen years of existence. But it had gotten considerably worse since he had left. No, he shook his head. He wasn't going to think about it. What's done is done, he thought, rather savagely.

He absentmindedly patted the large black dog that was curled up at his feet. The dog had adopted him a couple of nights ago. Following him wherever he went. At first he had been a little wary. The dog, despite the fact that he was almost thinner than Harry himself, was massive. And there was something rather unsettling about his eyes. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on what. But he had refused to let Harry out of his sight and he had gotten used to having the dog around. It was nice in a way. Comforting. The dog licked his palm and burrowed into his legs.

Harry looked outside the window, praying the countryside swiftly moving by would keep him awake. Unfortunately there was a heavy sort of fog that seemed to have descended. It had sapped the world of all colour and seemed to bring with it an oppressive sort of mood. Not that Harry had felt particularly unoppressed before the weather had decided to go haywire. It wasn't right, Harry thought to himself moodily. Yeah the rest of his life had gone to shit but it why on earth did it have to be less than four degrees in July?

While he mulled over the terrible weather, trying to take his mind off his god-awful life, he pulled out a Dairy Milk bar. Sure it had been a bit of an extravagance and he was running rather dangerously short on funds, but he hadn't been able to resist a bit of chocolate. He broke off a piece and fed it to the dog who wolfed it down with great gusto and looked at him expectantly as if asking for another.

"Sorry boy," Harry said, rubbing the dog's head. "Got to ration this."

The dog looked at him a little mournfully and lay back down. Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that he actually knew what he was saying.

Maybe it was the chocolate, or maybe it was the warmth given off by the dog's emaciated boy, or maybe it was the movement of the train, but Harry found himself, without meaning to, falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

 _The dream was different this time. It wasn't a vision of a dead person for one. Harry wasn't quite sure where he was but it was definitely different. What was the most different however was that he didn't feel scared at all. No if anything he felt happy._

 _"_ _We've found him my lord," a smooth voice came from behind him._

 _Harry turned around to face a man with hair so blond it might have been white._

 _"_ _Do you think that impresses me Lucius," Harry said coldly. Except his voice wasn't his at all. It was barely a voice in fact; it was more like a hiss._

 _"_ _Yaxley shall collect him soon," the blond man said, though his tone was a little more uncertain now. "My lord, in a matter of hours you would have rid the world of the only threat to you."_

 _"_ _That boy is not a threat," Harry said harshly. He was suddenly enraged. "Nothing can threaten me."_

 _"_ _No of course not my lord," the blond man called Lucius stuttered. "But now there will be no hope. You have won."_

 _Harry felt a smile spread across his face._

 _There was a loud growling noise, almost like the noise a dog would make. But that made no sense. Except for him and his Death Eaters there was nothing in this place that lived._

* * *

And Harry awoke suddenly to the dog growling loudly.

"What is it boy?" he asked sleepily.

The dog just continued growling and Harry suddenly felt a little foolish that for a second he actually expected an answer.

"Shh," he said rubbing the dog's head, frantically attempting to calm it down. "Please don't make a scene. I can't afford to buy another train ticket."

But the dog ignored him completely and kept growling. Harry thanked god he had decided to take a late train meaning that the number of passengers in the carriage with him were limited to the totally inebriated man in the back and the blonde woman who was listening to her iPod.

And then suddenly the dog pounced. Harry watched as he went sailing through the air and slammed into something. Only the problem was that there was nothing there. There was definitely a sound of two bodies colliding but as far as Harry could tell the dog had smashed into nothing. There was also a yell that certainly didn't come from either the inebriated man or the blonde woman, neither of whom looked up. Then the dog launched itself into the air again and this time gripped something with his teeth. Harry rubbed his eyes, wondering if sleep deprivation gave people hallucinations. Though this wasn't just hallucinations because he could definitely hear someone yelling.

"I'm going mad," he muttered to himself. "Maybe I'm still dreaming."

There was a crack and the dog flew across the carriage. Even the blonde woman with the iPod looked up at that and Harry ran over to the dog.

"What's happening," he cried, and the dog let out a bark that Harry suddenly realised was one of warning. Only years of dodging his cousin's blows allowed to Harry to duck the streak of red light that came his way.

There was a howl of frustration and all of a sudden there was a man dressed in black standing in the middle of the carriage.

The blonde woman screamed and for a second Harry was just glad that he wasn't the only one who could see the man. But then the man raised a stick-like thing he was holding in his hand and Harry felt rather less glad. But before the man in black could do anything the dog, who seemed to have shaken off whatever had happened to him, flew at the man, scratching, biting and clawing.

The blonde woman, had stopped having hysterics and did the only sensible thing a person could do in whatever situation they were in. She pulled the emergency brake. The train came to a halt and a siren began to blare.

"Come on kid," she yelled as she pressed the button to open the doors. "Security will handle this we just have to get off the train." She ran up to him grabbed his hand and tried to pull him off the train.

"No wait," Harry said, resisting. The dog was still locked in a tussle with the man in black and Harry felt his a pang in his stomach at the thought of leaving him behind.

"Come on," the woman said forcefully.

Harry took one last look at the dog whose fur seemed to have started smoking slightly and followed the woman out.

"We're pretty close to the station," she said, after they had moved as far away from their carriage as possible. "But I think we should wait for the driver. He'll probably want to ask some questions."

Harry felt panic welling up inside him.

"I'm sure you can handle it," he said, his voice coming out a little hoarse. "I just want to get on my way."

"No! Wait! Kid!" the woman shouted as Harry turned away from her.

He ignored her and began running. Everything was just too strange right now. He had a million thoughts rushing through his head none of which made any sense. He also realised that he was scared in a way that he had never been before. This all helped him run much faster.

He made it to the station and almost mechanically bought a ticket from the machine. He wasn't quite sure why but he suddenly missed the comforting presence of the dog. He also felt inexplicably guilty about leaving it there, presumably to die.

"Great Harry," he muttered to himself. "Your best friend is a dog you met two days ago."

Just as he was getting into the first train that went to London he spotted the large station clock that hung above the platform. The minute and the hour hand were on twelve and he smiled bitterly.

"Happy birthday to me," he mumbled and boarded the train.

* * *

 **a/n: Ahh first chapter prologue thing. I hope you like it, please tell me what you think!**


	2. Revelations

After his last disastrous train journey Harry refused to let himself sleep. He had far too much nervous energy to do so anyway. He found himself tensing whenever they got to a station. He wasn't quite sure what he was afraid of. Invisible men? God he was going totally crazy. He gripped his backpack tight, more for something to hold onto than because he was worried someone might take it. All it had in it was a sleeping bag he had stolen from Dudley before he ran away. He got into London Waterloo at around one in the morning. He got out of the train and wearily wondered if he would find a place to put his sleeping bag and hopefully get a little rest without insane visions. Before he could do anything though there was a loud crack from behind him.

"This is stupid," someone complained. It was evident whoever it was was trying to whisper. It was equally evident that he was very bad at it.

"Oh hush Ron," a female voice said sharply. "Dumbledore said he might be here."

"Dumbledore sent us here because we're underage and he wants us as far away from anything interesting," the bad whisperer said, not even bothering to keep his voice down.

"Maybe he wouldn't be trying to send us away if someone hadn't accidentally made himself vomit slugs," the girl said crossly.

"That wasn't my fault," the boy said defensively. "And Ollivander gave me a new wand didn't he? It'll be fine now."

"You're ridiculous," the girl said dismissively.

Harry found himself listening to their conversation with amusement. He didn't know what they were talking about at all (and what the hell was a Dumbledore?) but they were rather funny. Harry found himself looking back at them. If he had been less exhausted he might have wondered how they were on the platform. After all neither of them had gotten off the train with him. But because he was bone-crushingly tired he just accepted their presence and didn't even think about it.

They were both probably around his age, though the boy was at least four inches taller than him. He had red hair, a long nose and at the moment looked quite sulky. The girl (who was resolutely ignoring the boy's sulkiness) was rather pretty. She was quite skinny with bushy brown hair and a determined sort of expression. They made a rather attractive couple and Harry felt an odd pang in his chest.

"Well we had better look properly," the girl said. "Even if he isn't here we should do our best."

"Fine," the boy sighed.

"Cheer up Ron," the girl said soothingly. "They're trusting us to look for Harry Potter. It's a big deal."

The minute Harry heard those words he froze. Looking for him? Why would those two strangers be looking for him? He briefly wondered if Uncle Vernon had promised some sort of reward if he was found. He quickly dismissed the idea. Uncle Vernon was probably throwing a party right now to celebrate him running away. He tried to walk away from them without arousing suspicion. They were the only three people on the platform however and Harry was certain that at some point they were going to stop being so involved in one another and realise that he was the one they were looking for. He put his hood up but the minute he did that he knew it was a stupid move.

"Hey!" the redheaded boy shouted. "Harry Potter?"

"No," Harry replied, not looking back. He was well aware that he was entirely unconvincing but just when he was deciding to make a run for it there was another loud crack and someone materialised in front of him. The figure raised a stick and a streak of red light flew at Harry hitting him straight in the chest. Suddenly he couldn't move. None of his limbs were listening to his brain.

"Oh come on," he muttered to himself. The fact that he was actually more angry than scared at the moment really spoke to how tired he was.

The figure advance but before he could do anything the two people behind Harry shouted something incomprehensible and the black-cloaked man flew backward.

The man raised the stick he had in his hand again but the brown-haired girl shouted " _Stupefy_ " and the man slumped over unconscious.

"Merlin are you okay?" the redheaded boy asked, hurrying towards Harry.

Harry noticed the boy also had a stick in his hand. The boy muttered something under his breath and Harry could suddenly feel his legs. He collapsed onto the floor feeling entirely overwhelmed.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, after he had regained his breath.

"Are you Harry Potter?" the boy asked excitedly.

"Who wants to know," Harry asked coldly. Sure it seemed like this boy had saved him from the weirdo in the cloak but he still certainly didn't trust him.

"Ron," the boy said holding out his hand. "Ron Weasley."

But Harry was distracted by the girl, who had gone up to the inert form of the man in the cloak and was poking him with a stick of her own.

"What is she doing?" he asked, his brain not quite processing the recent events.

"She's just wiping him," Ron said casually. "Standard protocol."

"Wiping him?" Harry asked, befuddled.

"Memory wipe," Ron explained. "Can't have him waking up and attacking some poor Muggle."

"Ron," the girl chided. "Stop confusing him. We have to follow protocol."

"Oh yeah," Ron said sheepishly. "Sorry mate."

"Step one," the girl said. "Identify yourself Ronald."

"I told him my name already Hermione," Ron protested. "Do you want me to tell him my House and my home address?"

"No you nincompoop," the girl sighed. She walked up to the two of them. Harry realised he was still sitting on the dirty platform but didn't have the energy to get up.

"Hello," she said smiling at him kindly. "My name is Hermione Granger. I'm a junior member of the Order of the Phoenix. My partner and I are here to help you Harry Potter."

The speech had a very prepared feel to it and Harry's life began to seem rather surreal.

"God you sound like a robot Hermione," Ron scoffed.

"Can you do a better job then?" Hermione asked, spots of red appearing in her cheeks.

"I'm sure I can," Ron said. He turned to Harry. "Hey mate," he said. 'I know this might be a little overwhelming but we're going to take you somewhere safe."

"Nu-uh," Harry said rather incoherently. "No way am I going anywhere with you two nutjobs."

"We aren't nutjobs," Hermione said, sounding mildly offended. "We're members of the Order of the Phoenix and we're here to help."

"You said that already," Harry said. He promised himself that the minute he could get up he was going to make a run for it.

"Well we are," the girl said stubbornly. "We've been looking for you a long time and we're going to explain everything. But we have to get out of this station. They'll be sending others soon."

"Now this might be a little uncomfortable," the redheaded boy said apologetically as he grabbed Harry's arm.

"Wait a minute what are you-"

But before Harry could finish his sentence he choked because all of a sudden it felt like his insides were being squeezed. It was possibly the most uncomfortable he had ever felt and he routinely had his whale of a cousin sit on him. Almost as quickly as it had started the feeling stopped and Harry sank to his knees and threw up bile. He was so winded it took him a second to realise that he was no longer at the station.

"Sorry about that," Hermione said, rubbing his back. "It happens sometimes."

"Where am I?" he asked. "How did I- What the hell-?"

"We're near a safe house," Hermione explained.

"And how did we get here?" Harry asked. "Can you please just explain-"

"We will," Ron said, looking around furtively. He walked up to a door tapped it twice and then said quite clearly, "It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times."

The door slowly opened and with a nudge from Hermione, Harry found himself in a dark passageway.

" _Lumos_ ," Hermione muttered, and a beam of light emanated from the tip of her stick-thing.

"What are those things?" Harry asked.

"These are wands," Hermione said quite casually.

"Like a wizard's wand?" Harry asked with a feeble laugh.

"Yep," Ron said. "We're wizards. And so are you."

Harry gaped at him, open-mouthed.

"What?" he asked.

"Well I'm sure you kind of figured after everything that happened tonight that we weren't exactly Muggles," Ron said.

"Muggles?" Harry asked.

"Non-magic folk," Hermione said. "Ron's a wizard, I'm a witch."

"And I'm a wizard too?" Harry asked sceptically.

"Yes you are," Ron said. They walked along the dark passageway, only illuminated by Hermione's wand.

"You're taking this very well," Hermione said encouragingly.

"Am I?" Harry asked dryly.

"Well you haven't tried to run away," She said. "Or attack us."

"That's because I'm about seventy percent sure that this is a very bad dream," Harry said calmly. "And I'm going to wake up soon and I'll be on a train to London."

Ron grimaced. "Sorry," he said apologetically. "Not a dream. But you'll see that soon."

"And why would I?" Harry asked.

"Because dreams end mate," he said. And with those words of wisdom the passageway ended and Harry found himself in a sparsely decorated room. There were a few chairs and a single table. The only thing that gave the room any life was the fire that was crackling in the large fireplace.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"An Order safehouse," Ron explained. "When the War started Dumbledore set up at least thirty across the country."

"War?" Harry asked, befuddled. "What war."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Perhaps it might be better if someone else explained," she said. "It's a bit-"

"Much," Ron supplied. "Everyone's out looking for you now. Dumbledore told us about the…uh…incident on the train. Half the Order's gone there. Everyone else is tracking down Yaxley. We should probably tell someone we found him. And you."

"Who's Yaxley?" Harry asked. The name rang a bell but he couldn't quite remember why.

"Yaxley's the man who attacked us in the station," Hermione explained.

"The stupid ponce didn't even wear a mask," Ron said scornfully. "Must've thought you'd be easy pickings."

"Easy pickings for who?" Harry asked, sounding a little desperate. "I know you're giving me information but the more you talk the less I understand."

"We're sorry," Hermione said apologetically. "See this is why someone else should explain it."

As the two boys sat down on the uncomfortable chairs she walked over to the fire, pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. She threw a handful of a powder that was in a bowl next to the fireplace into the flames and they turned bright green. She then muttered something inaudible and threw the paper in. Within seconds an answer came back. Hermione's brow furrowed.

"He's coming," she said, sounding a little confused. "Dumbledore's coming here."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "It's been three months," he said. "We haven't seen him since-"

"Before term ended," Hermione interjected. "I know. But he's coming here now."

"How did he even get the message?" Ron asked, perplexed. "I thought you sent it to Headquarters. No one should even be there yet."

"I know," Hermione said. "But I suppose he has his ways."

Before Harry could ask them what on earth they were talking about the fire turned a bright shade of green and much to Harry's disbelief a man stepped out of it. He had seen some pretty crazy things but this was possibly one of the craziest so far. It was one thing to appear out of thin air, and completely another to walk out of a fire. The man looked distinctly worse for wear, with grey streaks in his light brown hair and light scars all over his face. There was something vaguely haggard about his appearance and Harry, after years of living with the Dursleys and their snobbishness, couldn't help but notice that his clothes were rather shabby.

Hermione was the first person the man spotted. "He's here?" he asked her, his voice tinged with desperation.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked, shock colouring her tone. "How did you-"

But before she could finish the sentence the man saw Harry and his face broke into a wide smile.

"It really is you," he said, his tone tinged with awe. "I'd recognise you anywhere."

There was something almost familiar about this man though Harry was quite certain he hadn't met him before.

"This is Professor Lupin, Harry," Hermione said tentatively. "He's a member of the Order too."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, holding his hand out. There really was something very familiar about this man.

"Of course you won't remember me," Lupin said taking it. "The last time I saw you, you had just turned one. I knew your parents."

"You knew my Mum and Dad?" Harry asked, his chest suddenly hurting a little.

"Very well," Lupin replied, Harry suddenly got the sense that even though the man was looking at him, he was seeing something, or someone else. "You look just like him you know. James, your father. The same hair the same face. But your eyes. You have Lily's eyes."

"How did you know my parents?" Harry asked, the pain in his chest becoming more acute.

"We were in school together," Lupin said, a wistful smile playing across his lips. "A very long time ago."

"I don't know anything about them," Harry confessed. "I know that they died in car crash when I was one but that's about it."

"A car crash?" Lupin visibly started. "Lily and James Potter most certainly did not die in a car crash."

Hermione and Ron had suddenly become very still.

"Maybe its better Dumbledore explain it to him Professor," Hermione said gently.

"Maybe," Lupin muttered. "A car crash though?"

"How did my parents die?" Harry asked. A wave of exhaustion hit him straight on. Every part of his world seemed to be turning upside down.

"They were murdered," Lupin said, his eyes flashing. Harry could see a great deal of suppressed anger in them. "They were heroes and they were murdered by Lord Voldemort."

Ron out a slight squeak at the last word, but with a look from Hermione he calmed down.

"Why did this Lord Whatever kill them?" Harry asked, his brain reeling.

"They were powerful your parents," he said, a certain amount of pride in his voice. "And he knew he could never turn them."

"I think Remus, that that is enough for now," a gentle voice said from behind him.

They had been so engrossed in the conversation no one had noticed an elderly gentleman with flowing white hair, and a matching beard enter the room. If Harry was ever asked to picture a wizard this is what he would've pictured. The man was wearing robes and a deep blue pointed hat. Here was something very Merlin-esque about him and Harry instinctively felt that his life was going to take an even weirder turn.

"Hello Harry," the man in the odd clothes said kindly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore."

He held out a long-fingered hand that Harry took, feeling a little numb. Once again he felt as though his life was becoming distinctly surreal.

"Now I know you've had a long night," the man said gently. "But would you like to tell us what happened?"

Harry narrated his tale including everything, even the behaviour of the odd dog that had saved his life. He noticed Lupin's face twitch slightly at his description of the dog, but apart from that the four of them listened enraptured.

"And then I got here," Harry said, finishing his story rather awkwardly.

"You must have a million questions," Albus Dumbledore said, his tone still gentle. "But you also look rather exhausted. Would you prefer it if I answered them tomorrow?"

Harry shook his head emphatically. "I want to know what's going on," he said.

"Very well," the white-haired man said, his bright blue eyes gazing intently at Harry from behind half-moon spectacles.

Harry swallowed unconsciously. He felt almost as though his whole life had been leading up to this night and it terrified him.

"Several years ago a very powerful wizard called Lord Voldemort began terrorising the wizarding world," Dumbledore said. There was a storyteller's quality in his tone and despite the fact that Harry was so tired, he couldn't feel some of his extremities, he listened intently. "Lord Voldemort and his band of followers called Death Eaters were virtually unstoppable. The havoc they wreaked was indescribable. But he decided to go after your family. He murdered your father and your mother died trying to protect you from him. And then he tried to kill you. But his curse rebounded and his soul was stripped from his body. Your mother's sacrifice, a sacrifice of true love, gave you the greatest protection known to all wizard kind. I put you in the care of your only surviving relatives, because that protection she gave you lived on in her sister."

"So Aunt Petunia kept me alive?" Harry asked sceptically. It was easier to believe in magic than it was to believe in Aunt Petunia. "Knowing her as I do, I find that unlikely."

Dumbledore chuckled. "But it's true," he said. "Your Aunt Petunia shielded you from everything. Including- and this is where I feel terribly ashamed- me."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"At the age of eleven you should have gotten a letter," Dumbledore said. "A letter inviting you to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But I couldn't find you. No one could. Your aunt and uncle moved away and we couldn't track you down."

"There are a million ways to track someone down," Harry said. "It's not like they went into hiding or anything."

"It's strong magic," Dumbledore said. And then taking a rather poignant pause, "Or it was. By leaving the Dursleys you forsook the magical protection your mother's death gave you."

Harry suddenly felt very empty inside. "So I threw away my mother's gift?" he asked lowly.

At that Dumbledore smiled at him gently. "It was the only way you could re-join the world you were meant to live in Harry," he said. "Do not dwell on what is past."

Harry desperately wanted to snap at the old man but stopped himself.

"Wait a second," he said remembering something. He gestured to Ron. "He said we were in a war. What war?"

"Two years ago," Dumbledore said. "Lord Voldemort returned to power. We don't know how he did it. But by the time we realised he had already amassed his army and several allies. We simply weren't prepared. Oh he had tried before. Twice he tried to come to power within Hogwarts itself but both times he was stopped. Once by me and once by Miss Granger and Mr Weasley, who both proved to be very enterprising."

Ron and Hermione tried to look modest but they were both evidently thoroughly pleased with themselves.

"But we're ready now," Ron said, determination in his blue eyes.

Dumbledore nodded. "We are certainly more prepared than we were two years ago," he said.

"This is a lot to take in," Harry said, taking a deep breath. Just yesterday he had been a perfectly ordinary teenage runaway and today he was somehow involved in a magical war.

"It is," Dumbledore agreed. "May I suggest some rest?"

"That sounds good," Harry said gratefully.

"Mr Weasley," Dumbledore said, suddenly sounding authoritative. "I'd suggest you take him to the Burrow. I don't think your mother would mind too much. Tell her I will meet with her and your father to talk about extra protection spells. There's no reason for your house to become a target but better safe than sorry."

Ron nodded and began moving toward the fireplace. He threw handful of the powder that Hermione had used before.

"Just throw some of that stuff in," he said. "And say the Burrow very clearly."

"I know you said I was a wizard but I'm not walking into the fire," Harry said firmly.

"Trust me it's fine," Ron said, stepping into the fire, that was now a bright shade of green. "The Burrow!" The redheaded boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"It really is totally safe," Hermione said, nudging him toward the fireplace. "We're on a very limited Floo Network. At the worst you'll end up in some other Order safehouse."

Harry gulped. Well even if he did get a little fried, it's not like his life could get that much worse. He picked up a handful of the powder, and threw it into the now vacant fire. And then he took a deep breath and stepped into the flames.

* * *

 **a/n: So thought I'd just hit the ground running with this, a super quick update. Hopefully I'll continue to be good. Please tell me what you think!**


	3. The Calm

"You can open your eyes now," an unfamiliar voice said. Whoever it was sounded vaguely amused and Harry was a little miffed.

"Lay off Gin," Ron said, as Harry warily opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him, smiling widely was a very pretty girl. He self-consciously tried to flatten his permanently untidy hair and stepped out of the fireplace.

"Ginny," the girl said holding out her hand. Harry took it and smiled, a little nervously. The girl had an athlete's body, powerful shoulders and strong slightly chapped hands. She had sparkling brown eyes and looked capable of a good deal of mischief. Her fiery red hair matched Ron's and Harry figured they were related.

"Harry," he said. "Harry Potter."

"I couldn't believe Ron when he said he had found you," Ginny said, conversationally. "Though he did have Hermione with him which would explain it."

"Oi," Ron said looking mildly offended. "I'm an excellent wizard I'll have you know. Who saved the school four years ago?"

"Hermione," Ginny supplied immediately. "With a little help from you."

"Hermione was petrified by Easter," Ron mumbled.

"What was that Ron?" Hermione asked sharply, materialising in the fireplace.

"Nothing nothing," he said hurriedly.

"Why was everyone trying to find me?" Harry asked, once Hermione had gotten out of the fireplace and dusted ash off her clothes.

"You're a pretty big deal y'know," Ginny said. "The Boy-Who-Lived. No one's ever survived a Killing Curse."

"A Killing Curse?" Harry asked.

"Pretty self-explanatory," Ron said with a shrug. "You should've died and you didn't. Now you're a big deal."

"Me?" Harry asked sceptically. "Have you seen me? Do I look like I'm important in any way?"

"Well wait till Mum feeds you up a bit," Ginny said with a grin. "You'll be all set to face You-Know-Who in a week or two tops."

"I don't know who," Harry said confusedly.

"Y'know the Dark Lord," Ginny said, missing Hermione's frantic headshaking.

"You mean the guy who killed my parents," Harry said slowly. "Why would I…?"

He looked at Hermione who immediately stopped moving, and gazed at him with a panicked expression. Ginny who had also noticed Hermione's shenanigans frowned.

"No one told him?" she asked.

"I think Dumbledore thought it might all be a bit too much for one day," Hermione said weakly.

"Told me what?" Harry asked, sounding a little dangerous. He was far to exhausted for all this shit.

The three of them exchanged significant looks but before they had to answer him a short, rather stout woman with bright red hair ran into the room looking flustered. She immediately swept Hermione and Ron up into a hug.

"Mu-um," Ron complained. "We're fine."

"I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking," his mother said, still squeezing them tight. "First it was the underage apparition licence. And then what he did to your Trace-

"Mum this is Harry," Ron said, cutting her off hastily.

"Hello dear," she said, giving him a hug as well. For a second Harry stiffened, utterly unused to physical affection, but then he relaxed into her hug. There was something incredibly warm about this woman. Hugging her was like drinking a hot cup of cocoa, or sitting next to a fire. She felt safe.

"You're much too thin," she said quickly. "Come on, we'll get you something to eat and then straight to bed. From what I heard this has been a long and tiring day for you."

Harry took a seat at the table. Soon there were plates piled high with food in front of him. The other three chatted while he devoured everything in sight. He almost couldn't remember a time when he had eaten until he was full.

"You can sleep in my room," Ron said, once they were done. "It's a little crowded in here. Dumbledore sends all the strays to Mum."

"What were they talking about before?" Harry asked quietly, as the two of them made their way up to Ron's room. The staircase they were climbing up was one of the most rickety Harry had ever seen.

"Tomorrow," Ron said. "Mum's right. You look dead on your feet."

And even though Harry didn't want to admit it he knew he had had enough for today. He prayed that he would be so tired that he wouldn't be able to dream. As he was helping Ron set up the temporary bed, he thought longingly of a time when his dreams consisted mainly of flying motorcycles.

He was asleep almost the minute his head hit the pillow. And of course, keeping with the spirit of the rest of the day, his prayers remained woefully unanswered.

* * *

 _It was the same graveyard as before only this time it was filled with people. Harry had never felt rage like this in his life. It was all encompassing. He lifted his wand and screamed, "CRUCIO."_

 _A pitiful wail came from the huddled being in front of him. How dare he, Harry thought furiously. How dare he fail the Dark Lord? And they had wiped his memory too. Useless! Harry raised his wand and with all his magical strength pulled the memory out of the man in front of him. The man screamed and screamed but Harry did not relent._

 _"_ _All I asked was that you bring in the boy!" he hissed. "How hard could that have been? He's never been near magic in his life."_

 _"_ _I tried master," the figure on the ground practically sobbed. "I tried but there was a dog-"_

 _"_ _So you mean to tell me you were outsmarted by an animal," Harry snarled. "CRUCIO."_

 _"_ _I tried!" the man screamed again. "I tried but the Order-"_

 _"_ _CRUCIO."_

* * *

Harry awoke with a start to see the sun streaming in. He sat up for a second entirely disoriented. He wasn't quite sure where he was but he knew it wasn't home. And then the events of the previous night came flooding back and he suppressed an instinct to just curl up in a ball and hope no one would come and find him. Judging by the noise coming from behind the door there was a great deal of activity in the house and he steeled himself to go downstairs and face everyone.

As he got up he noticed a toothbrush that was levitating in mid air with a note attached.

 _Thought you might need this dear. The bathroom's a few doors down._

Harry figured it was for him and took it gratefully. He walked to the bathroom; relieved he wouldn't have to meet what seemed like an entire circus with bad breath.

As he walked down the stairs his stomach grumbled. The smells coming from the table were incredible. He could see piles of bacon, stacks of waffles and pancakes and a whole bowl full of scrambled eggs. I could get used to this, he thought rather happily.

A hush descended as he walked into the kitchen. There were several people sitting around the table and they all turned to look at him.

"Morning," Ginny said cheerily, breaking the awkward silence. "We thought you'd sleep till the afternoon at the very least."

Harry just smiled awkwardly.

"Shift up Dean," she said to a handsome dark-skinned boy sitting next to her. He obliged and Harry went to sit next to her. The conversations started up again and Hermione asked him how he had slept.

"I've had worse," he said wryly. "Much much worse."

"Harry this is Dean," Ginny said introducing him to the boy sitting next to her. "He's staying with us for a while."

"She means hiding out," Dean said ruefully. "They don't let me go anywhere anymore."

"Dean's a junior member of the Order like Ron and Hermione," Ginny explained. "He got into a bit of trouble recently."

"Yeah spray painting 'rebel propaganda' on walls isn't exactly something this Ministry approves of," Dean said with a shake of his head. "Doesn't help that my blood status wasn't exactly clear."

There was so much Harry didn't understand about that sentence so he just smiled and nodded.

"Hello hello," a redheaded boy from across the table said cheerfully. For a second Harry thought there was some strange wizard trick going on because there were two of him. But then he remembered that twins weren't exactly magical. Though these two probably were.

"Hey," he said, as he began piling his plate with food.

"I'm Fred," one of the twins said.

"George," the other one said. "And it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Potter."

Hermione groaned. "He is not endorsing your joke shop," she said sharply.

"Oh come on Hermione," one of the boys (Harry had already lost track of who was Fred and who was George) whined. "Just imagine it. The Saviour of the Wizarding World wants you to buy from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"Has a nice ring to it," the other twin agreed.

"Honestly you two," Hermione said, exasperated.

Hermione and the twins began bickering. The twins insisted on calling Hermione prefect Hermione the whole time, which seemed to make her even crosser. Ron caught Harry's eye and both of them stifled laughter. It was funny how at ease Harry suddenly felt. Even though there was obviously something no one was telling him, it was easy to shove that aside when surrounded by mountains of food and people (although they were evidently going through some difficult times) who were happy.

Half an hour into breakfast a handsome (and once again redheaded) wizard tramped down the stairs, yawning, and followed by one of the most beautiful women Harry had ever seen. It was as though time stood still for brief moment and Harry found himself in a bit of a daze.

"She has that effect on people," Ginny said dryly. He realised to his embarrassment that his mouth had been hanging open mid-chew. He quickly shut it.

"Looks like someone had a late night," one of the twins (George possibly?) said slyly.

"Order business," the handsome redheaded man said with a yawn.

"Bill 'as been working most 'ard," the woman said piously, her accent thick. "All zat ruckus at ze train station."

"That's my brother Bill and his fiancée Fleur," Ginny said sourly.

"At least you aren't in Mad Eye's unit," one of the twins complained bitterly. "He spent the whole of Thursday setting spiders loose in Headquarters and shouting constant vigilance at us."

"Mad Eye?" Harry asked.

"He's a General," Ginny said. "Well technically he's a Team Leader but General just works better."

"So this is an actual war then?" Harry marvelled. "How have you lot managed to keep it a secret?"

"You lot?" Ginny said with a laugh. "Hate to break it to you but you're one of 'our lot'."

"That's not the worst thing I can imagine," Harry said, with a half-smile.

Ginny smiled back and Harry found he had developed a rather uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You should ask Hermione if you want to know more about the Order structure though," Ginny said. "She and Ron were the ones who forced them to let underage wizards help. Dumbledore couldn't exactly say no after they saved the school. Ron sometimes helps with mission planning. And Hermione…Well I don't think anyone knows how the order works better than Hermione. She revamped our whole system of collecting information. Everything is as she often tells us, ten times more efficient now."

Harry looked at the two people in front of him. Hermione had stopped bickering with the twins and she was now trading barbs with Ron instead. It was hard to believe that they were masters of strategy.

"Oi you two," she said. "Stop arguing and tell Harry about the Order."

"It's simple really," Hermione said, taking a break from her sparring with Ron. "There are four senior teams and two junior teams. Everyone reports to Dumbledore and each team is in charge of something different. Mad Eye's team- that's the team Fred and George are in- and Kingsley Shacklebolt's team are our offense."

"Basically we go out and kick some serious arse," one of the twins said with a grin. "While the rest of these people sit around doing nothing."

"Well you wouldn't be able to kick arse if it weren't for us," Hermione said crisply. "Then there's Ron and Ginny's dad. His team helps with clean up. So any Muggles that need their memories modified, anything that's been blown up that really shouldn't have been blown up, they handle it."

"Speaking of," Ginny said. "Mum where is Dad?"

"There was Muggle baiting in Surrey," her mother called from the other end of the table. "They needed him there."

"Dad's away a lot nowadays," Ginny explained. Although her tone was normal, Harry could sense an undercurrent of worry in her words.

"Their Dad's a bit like a bomb squad," Hermione explained. "He makes sure casualties are a minimum."

Harry nodded.

"Then there are the crackpots," Fred said cheekily.

"Those crackpots have saved your life more times than I can count," Hermione said severely. "And they aren't crackpots, they're Intelligence."

"I don't think anything with Dung in it can call themselves intelligence," George scoffed.

"Mundungus Fletcher is one of the best agents we have," Hermione said stiffly.

"Well your best agent tried to sell me Doxy droppings," George said. "At a discount of course."

"Well if you two didn't keep performing dangerous experiments then he wouldn't think you wanted Doxy droppings," Hermione said flustered.

"Victim blaming are we Hermione?" Fred said wickedly.

Ginny hurriedly interrupted them before it could become another full-blown argument.

"There are also two junior teams," she said. "Ron and Hermione head one and Cedric Diggory heads the other."

The twins scoffed. "Diggory should've graduated to the seniors years ago," Fred said. "But he's still mucking about with the kiddies."

"He's only nineteen," Ginny said defensively.

"Aww do you have a little crush on Diggory?" Fred said teasingly. "Gin's the star of Diggory's team."

Harry, who had noticed Ginny and Dean edging closer and closer together the whole meal (not that it was hard, the table was totally packed) suspected that her interests didn't quite head in the direction of her team leader.

"You're only upset because he beat you at Quidditch," Hermione said calmly, pouring maple syrup on her waffles. "Twice."

All four of the Weasleys surrounding her immediately began raising vociferous objections to her statement. To Harry though it was just another word he didn't understand. He had a feeling this was going to be his life for at least a while now.

Dean looked at him apologetically. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Mum's a Muggle. It took me a while to figure everything out."

Harry privately thought he'd never be able to 'figure everything out' but didn't say anything.

"That reminds me," Hermione said suddenly. "Dumbledore told me he'd be coming around to meet you. He said he had a few more things to explain."

"Well I don't think I'm going anywhere," Harry said, a little dryly.

"You're also going to have to get a wand," Hermione continued. "Ollivander's in hiding but I'm sure Dumbledore'll manage something."

Harry had noticed that everyone seemed to talk about Dumbledore with a hint of reverence. It seemed quite odd that the kindly old man he had met yesterday was in charge of what seemed to be a highly coordinated rebel movement.

"I don't know what to do with a wand," he pointed out.

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. She carefully pulled out her own wand.

"Why don't we see what you can do," she said. There was an almost academic curiosity in her voice and Harry had an uncomfortable feeling that he was a guinea pig of some sort.

She stood up and gestured for Harry to follow.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Outside," she said. "I can't imagine Mrs Weasley will be too pleased if we break anything. The twins cause more than enough destruction for all of us."

"Why would I-" Harry started. But then he noticed almost the whole table getting up and following him and Hermione out the door. "Guess I'm going to have an audience," he muttered.

Hermione just smiled and handed him her wand. The air had a distinct chill in it and Harry felt quite unsettled as he gripped the wand in his hand.

"Now what?" he asked, feeling rather foolish.

"I thought…" Hermione trailed off, sounding slightly disappointed. "Never mind. Why don't we try something easy?"

Harry nodded.

"We can try a levitating spell," she said. She knelt down, picked a flat stone off the ground and held it in front of him. "The movement's a swish and a flick and you have to say _Wingardium Leviosa_."

" _Wingardium Leviosa_?" Harry said tentatively, jerking his hand in an odd movement.

"No no," Hermione said, gently taking the hand he had wrapped around the wand. "It's more like this."

She moved his hand in one smooth motion and one sharp motion and all of a sudden Harry felt something tingle in his fingertips. It wasn't an alien feeling. Harry suddenly had brief memories of things breaking and Aunt Petunia getting very upset for some reason.

"I think I've done this before," he said. "When I was younger. But…"

"Accidental magic," Hermione said. "It manifests in children quite often. I've never met anyone who wasn't trained after turning eleven though. This should be interesting."

Harry realised the source of her curiousity. He was beginning to understand Hermione a little. He was an irregularity and she was interested.

" _Wingardium Leviosa,"_ he said, making the correct movement this time. The rock flopped a little but didn't really move.

"It didn't work," he said, oddly disappointed.

"I wouldn't worry," Hermione said, she was still staring at the rock in her hand as if waiting for it to do backflips. "This isn't your wand and you've just started out."

"You were expecting something more spectacular weren't you?" Harry said.

"Possibly," Hermione admitted, a little sheepishly. "It's a bit of a relief actually. I thought you might accidentally blow something up."

"You sound much more disappointed than relieved," Harry noted.

"I'm really not," Hermione said, spots of colour coming into her cheeks. "It's actually quite impressive. "Usually untrained witches and wizards are a total mess. Or so I've heard. You seem to be doing okay. Even when you have a wand there's nothing…dangerous about you."

Again Harry had the distinct impression that Hermione was a little bit let-down but he let it go. He handed her wand back to her.

"Really Harry," she said. "Don't worry about it. You're obviously magic. All you need is a little training."

Just then there was a massive crash from inside the house. Everyone standing in the garden rushed back in. Sitting at the table they had just vacated was a tall lanky man who looked an awful lot like Ron but with curly hair and horn-rimmed glasses. His face was a deep shade of red and he was gasping something inaudible.

"What is it Pearce?" Ginny said, immediately going up to a man who was presumably another brother of hers.

"That's Percy," Hermione whispered. "He's one of our best agents. Works as a spy in the Ministry."

"Dead," Percy wheezed. "He's dead."

"Who's dead," his mother cried.

"Dumbledore," Percy managed to choke out.

* * *

 **a/n: So I hope most of the questions are answered in this chapter. I tried to keep the characters as in character as possible so hopefully they don't deviate too much from canon. Anyway hope you liked the chapter. Please tell me what you think!**


	4. The Storm

There was a horrified silence. Even though no one said anything Harry could feel panic rising like a tidal wave, ready to crash around these people at anytime. Only Hermione let out something that was a mix of a gasp and a sob before pulling herself together. Harry was once more forcibly reminded that these people were in the middle of a war. There was no time for sorrow when you were being attacked.

Mrs Weasley immediately took charge. We should send send Patronuses to the Team Leaders. Ask them to assemble at Headquarters."

"We can't use Headquarters," Percy rasped, his voice still not quite returned to him.

"It's still safe," Mrs Weasley said. "And it's the best place to be right now. The most fortifications."

"It'll be overrun by Death Eaters in minutes," Percy said. And then taking a very deep breath as if preparing for something deeply unpleasant said, "We were betrayed. Snape sold us out."

"Snape?" Hermione asked, her tone tinged with horror. "But Dumbledore was always so sure-"

"Dumbledore made a mistake," Percy said harshly. "Snape was the one who did it. He killed him."

"Well this changes everything," Mrs Weasley said a little stiffly.

"It really does," Hermione muttered. It looked like she was thinking a million thoughts at one. "All of our intelligence could be wrong…"

"Who else knows," George asked sharply. "About Dumbledore's…" He trailed off.

"No one," Percy said. He shook his head as if unable to believe the tale he was about to tell. "It was just such bad timing. Dumbledore was in with Scrimgeour. And the Death Eaters they just… just swarmed in. And no one stopped them." He breathed heavily. "I couldn't… I just ran…"

"It's okay," Bill said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "We needed to know. Someone needed to tell us."

Percy nodded, but he still looked deeply distressed and more than a little ashamed.

"The Ministry's fallen," he said. He turned to Hermione. "You were right. They had Thicknesse in their pocket."

Hermione let out an expletive under her breath.

"And they had Snape with them," Percy said. "And I didn't realise… He asked me where Dumbledore was and I told him. I didn't…"

"You didn't know," Ron said angrily. "None of us did. That bastard."

His mother shot him a look but didn't rebuke him for his use of bad language. Perhaps, Harry thought, she felt the same way.

"We'll call the Council meeting here," Mrs Weasley said finally. "Fred call your father, George call Remus, Hermione call Kingsley, Ron call Cedric and Bill call Alastor."

Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Bill pulled out their wands. They all said something that Harry couldn't quite catch and large shining shapes appeared. It took Harry a second to realise that these shapes were actually animals. From Fred and George's wands two vaguely dog-like shapes appeared. Harry recognized Fred' animal (thanks to a couple of viewings of the Lion King) as a hyena. George's animal looked like a cross between a fox and wolf and Bill's was a large boar with ridges on it's back. Ron's was the smallest and also a dog. Hermione (whose animal had taken a little longer to appear) produced an otter. The four brothers and Hermione muttered something to their animals who promptly went bounding off.

"They're summoning the Council," Hermione explained. "We use Patronuses. It's a little complicated."

Harry was exceedingly grateful that despite her obvious preoccupation she still tried to explain details of this life to him.

"Who's on the Council?" Harry asked.

"Team Leaders," Hermione said. "And their Seconds. When the Order was smaller everyone used to come to meetings. But as we grew it just became easier to have a council."

There was a crackling sound and a balding redheaded wizard, who Harry immediately assumed was the father of the other assorted redheads, walked out of the fireplace.

"Is it true Pearce?" he asked, immediately striding towards his son.

Percy just nodded grimly. Mr Weasley was quickly followed by a host of far more bizarre looking people. The first man to walk out after Mr Weasley looked like he had seen a great deal of trouble. His face was heavily scarred but it was his eyes that were the oddest part about him. One of his eyes was brown and ordinary looking and one was electric blue and looked as though it didn't quite belong in his head. Harry could immediately tell that it would be unwise to cross this man. The woman that stepped out behind him looked positively normal by comparison despite the fact that she had bubble-gum pink hair.

The strange looking man, after grilling Percy for a good fifteen minutes turned his attention to Harry.

"How do we know he's the real deal," he growled, sizing up Harry in a way that made him feel most uncomfortable. "He could be an imposter. No one's been able to find the Potter boy for years and he suddenly just lands in our lap?"

"He met Dumbledore before he…" Hermione said trailing off. "Dumbledore would know."

"Apparently there was a lot that Dumbledore didn't know," the man grunted, but he seemed satisfied.

"This is Alastor Moody," Mrs Weasley said, introducing the odd looking man to Harry after he showed no signs of doing it himself. "And this is Nymphadora."

She gestured to the pink haired woman who grimaced.

"Call me Tonks," she said, holding out her hand.

Harry took it, immediately liking the look of the woman. Despite the fact that her expression was serious he noticed laugh lines around the corners of her mouth and slight crinkles around her eyes that showed she smiled an awful lot.

The fire behind them turned green once again and a handsome black man stepped out. While he wasn't as battle scarred as Alastor Moody he still had the similar air of a person who should not be tangled with. There was also a great deal of assurance in his step and Harry, who had learnt at a very early age to read people, sensed that everyone became slightly calmer with the advent of this man.

"Lupin and Diggory are coming in in about twenty minutes," the man said, forgoing any greetings. "They're cleaning out headquarters."

"Is it worth the risk?" Mrs Weasley asked anxiously, shooting an oddly furtive glance at Tonks.

"Yes," Moody said shortly.

"That's Kingsley Shacklebolt," Ginny whispered to Harry. "He's in charge of one of the Offense Teams."

He was a quiet man, Harry noted, both Moody and Mr Weasley were talking to him at approximately twenty miles and hour and he just listened carefully. It turned out that Mrs Weasley's fears were unfounded because exactly twenty minutes after Kingsley Shacklebolt's arrival Lupin burst out of the fire followed quickly by a boy who even Harry had to admit was exceedingly handsome. He guessed the boy was Cedric Diggory, who Fred and George had spoken of so disparagingly earlier.

"Now that we're all here," Moody said. "Can we begin?"

The entire coalition sat around the table. There was even less space than there had been before and they were all packed together like sardines.

"We usually sit outside when there are so man of us," Ginny explained. "But this is a special situation."

She then went to sit next to Cedric who smiled at her as she took her place. Harry gathered from the seating arrangements that Bill was Kingsley's Second and that Tonks was Moody's. Fred and George gestured to him to come and sit with them at the corner of the table.

"We usually aren't at these things," Fred said. "They usually yammer on for ages."

But there was something oddly forced about his jokiness now. Harry once again appreciated the toll the news of their leader's death was taking on them.

Dean and Fleur also joined Harry and the twins and Harry figured that they weren't frequent members of the Council meetings either.

Once everyone was seated there was a moment's silence as though no one was a hundred percent sure how to begin. Then Mr Weasley muttered something and waved his wand. Glasses appeared in front of everyone and a bottle containing a dark coloured liquid began making the rounds.

"First a toast," Mr Weasley said. "To Dumbledore."

"To Dumbledore," everyone echoed, taking a sip of the dark coloured liquid.

Harry was pleasantly surprised by the taste. While it was certainly alcoholic as evidenced by the slight burn in his throat, it didn't taste like anything he had ever consumed before.

"Unfortunately," Kingsley said, his voice deepening. "There is no time for a eulogy, although if anyone deserves it it's Dumbledore. We have to plan our next move."

"We can discount most of the intelligence we have," Hermione said bitterly. "Snape was our main source within the Death Eaters."

"He wouldn't have fed us too much wrong information," Lupin argued. "He would've gotten caught out ages ago if he had. And I know that a lot of what he said is true. Greyback, doesn't quite trust me just yet but he does give all of us the basics of Lord Voldemort's plans."

"What about succession?" Moody grunted. "We can't be running around like headless chickens now Dumbledore's gone. We need a leader."

"I would've thought you would head us now," Mrs Weasley said, a little bemused. "After all-"

"I'm not one for sitting around and coordinating everything," Moody said. "I like being in the field, not buried by reports."

"Dumbledore didn't stay out of the field," Kingsley pointed out. "Intelligence worked directly under him. He was totally involved."

"You should do it," Mr Weasley said suddenly. "You should lead the Order Kingsley."

"But Alastor-"

"Arthur's right," Moody said, cutting Kingsley off. "It makes the most sense. We can promote Bill to the head of your team."

Bill nodded. "I can do it," he said steadily. "I'm ready."

Kingsley nodded, not looking entirely happy.

"That just leaves Intelligence then," he said. "I definitely can't lead that. I have no idea how it works. Can you handle it Remus?"

Lupin shook his head. "I'm still undercover," he said, almost apologetically. "There's no way I'd be able to infiltrate Greyback's group and coordinate all the information we get."

"Why don't you let Hermione do it," Tonks chimed in. "She knows how it works better than anyone."

"She's underage," Kingsley said. "We can't-"  
"She's done far more dangerous things than this," Tonks argued. "And Dumbledore took her Trace off so there's no way they can track her."

Kingsley looked at Hermione contemplatively and she gazed back at him resolutely.

"Alright," he said finally. "But nothing too dangerous."

Harry sensed that even he didn't think his instructions would be followed.

"I think you're up for a promotion as well Diggory," Moody said. "Kingsley's team is a man short."

Cedric nodded.

"Does that mean Ginny's heading the junior team now?" her mother asked sharply.

"I suppose it does," Kingsley said carefully.

"Not a chance," Mrs Weasley said firmly. "She's just fourteen."

"Mum I'm fifteen in a week," Ginny protested.

"You still have two whole years left until you're of age," her mother said tersely. "And it's too dangerous."

"Ron and Hermione-"

"Ron and Hermione are different," Mrs Weasley said. "I'm sorry but you can't."

"Ginny's really very good at what she does Mrs Weasley," Cedric said hesitantly. "She's definitely the most qualified."

"You know we keep our junior members out of the fighting," Mr Weasley said soothingly. "She won't be in any more danger than she already is."

"Fine," Mrs Weasley said with bad grace. "But if this puts a target on her back-"

"Mum I'm a blood traitor Weasley," Ginny said dryly. "There's been a target on my back for a while now."

"Now that we know who's reporting to who what should we do next?" Kingsley asked. "Are there any Death Eater outposts we can hit? Anything with vulnerabilities?"

"We were planning an attack on Malfoy Manor but we can't do that anymore," Hermione said. "It's probably the first thing Snape told them. We'd just be walking into a trap."

"We can maybe hit the Lestranges," Lupin said. "But they're unpredictable. We aren't even sure if they've converted their old house into a Death Eater outpost or if it's just for the family."

"If we get any of the Lestranges it'll be a good day at the office," Moody growled. "Picking up any other Death Eaters will just be a bonus."

"Hermione see if you can find out more about the Lestranges' mansion," Kingsley said. "Alastor's right. If we can pick any of the Lestranges up it'll be a good day."

Hermione nodded.

Harry had been listening quietly the whole time. He only vaguely understood what the Council was talking about and while he recognized it was important also decided that he had had enough of being in a constant state of confusion. At the very least he was going to make someone tell him whatever it was that Hermione and Ron had refused to the evening before.

He cleared his throat and the entire table fell silent. They turned to him expectantly and he suddenly felt self-conscious.

"I know that this Lord Voldemort person killed my parents," Harry said. "But why does he want me so badly? I can't do magic, I can't do anything really."

The people sitting around the table exchanged glances with each other. It was Lupin who broke the silence first.

"When you survived," he started carefully. "There were a fair number of rumours flying around. No one was quite sure how you did it. I mean you were just a baby. And Lily and James… Well it made no sense to many people. Dumbledore told us that it was because of Lily's sacrifice. Her love protected you. But not everyone was totally sure that was true. It was suggested that you might have special powers. Then two years ago he came back. And well everyone assumes that you're the only one who can stop him again."

It took Harry a second to process what he was saying.

"So people think I'm fated to defeat him?" he asked slowly.

"And there's also another thing," Mr Weasley said, sounding almost apologetic. "There's a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" Harry asked sceptically.

"No one's quite sure exactly what it is," Mr Weasley said. "But well there are…"

"Rumours?" Harry asked dryly.

"Yes," Mr Weasley nodded. "Rumours. And what most people think is that…"

"What?" Harry asked, feeling rather overwhelmed.

"Well they think it's got to be you," Ron filled in. "It's you and him."

"And you're kind of a legend now," Hermione added. "You give people hope."

"So a murdering lunatic wants to kill me because someone looked into a crystal ball and told him that I was the only thing standing between him and what? World domination?"

"Pretty much," Ron said.

"Because this week couldn't get any worse," Harry muttered.

But of course he spoke far too soon because there was a crashing noise that came from outside. The entire table immediately sprang up, wands in hand. They ran to the windows that were reverberating with the impact of whatever was trying to come in. Harry could see black figures shooting beams of light from their wands that were getting absorbed by some invisible shield.

"Snape couldn't have led them here," Hermione muttered, almost to herself. "He wasn't a Secret Keeper."

"Well maybe he found a way around that," Lupin said tersely. "Because if I'm not mistaken that's Bellatrix Lestrange leading the assault."

"They must know that Harry's here," Hermione said. "They wouldn't send her otherwise."

"This is bad," Ron muttered. "The wards will only keep them out for so long."

There was another bang and a shout of triumph. For a brief second there was visible a golden barrier. But whatever the figures in black were throwing at it made it dissolve quickly and Harry felt terror build inside him.

"Everyone who's underage out now!" Moody roared. He threw a spell through the window and it hit one of the figures in the chest.

"Not a chance," Ron said, and he too shot a spell out of the window that narrowly missed a slightly insane looking woman. The woman let out a shriek of manic laughter and continued her assault on the house.

"You should get out too Remus," Kingsley said urgently. "We can't afford to let them see you."  
"I can't-"

"You're our best bet for good intel right now," Hermion pleaded. "Please Professor Lupin."

With bad grace Lupin hurried to the fire, threw some powder in and disappeared.

"We have to get you out of here," Hermione said to Harry. "If they get you now it'll be a body blow for the resistance."

"Get to the safe house in Ealing," Kingsley said quickly. "We don't use it often. And I'm the Secret Keeper for it. The Death Eaters probably haven't infiltrated it."

"Why can't everyone run?" Harry asked as Hermione hurried him to the fireplace. As scared as he was he felt a pang in his chest. This felt far too much like running away. He knew he couldn't contribute very much to a magical fight but this felt wrong.

"It's a key position in a wizarding village," she said, as she threw the green powder into the fire. "We can't let the Death Eaters get it. The Council will defend it and reinforce the wards once they get rid of them"

"Will everyone be alright?" Harry asked.

"Hopefully," Hermione said, her face pinched.

But Harry could tell that there was a very large possibility that some of these people wouldn't survive this.

* * *

 **a/n: Not a wonderful place to end this but hopefully I'll update soon. Please tell me what you think!**


End file.
